An experimental program for the interdisciplinary training of new professionals as child health care workers1

Abstract
This article describes the conceptualization, development, and implementation of a highly successful A.A.‐level, two‐year Child Health Care Worker Training Program at the University Affiliated Program, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. This innovative interdisciplinary program fully trains paraprofessionals to provide service to developmentally disabled children and their families in coordinative working relationships with supervisory professionals in either an educational “special education school” or clinical “hospital, institution, agency” setting. Trainees receive extensive clinical experience through the University Affiliated Program, other medical settings, and special education schools. They complete academic coursework at Los Angeles City College and experience involvement in several Los Angeles clinical or educational community facilities. The article also discusses the development of an entry‐level position for such trainees in the Los Angeles Unified School District Special Education Schools. Additionally, it focuses on trainee and program evaluation issues and on future directions of this program and its graduates.

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